New products or maybe not so familar....

Mom bought us new food bowls so we'd have glass instead of metal. (The instructions with the red desert clay we get with dinner says don't use metal utinsels.)Also, there have been some warnings about ceramics, especially colored ones, being toxic even though they are sold as pet bowls.

The 2 c. size is great for us, also comes in 4 c.

"Petstages Clear and Clean Dog Bowl is a premium quality, durable dish for your treasured pet. Made from break resistant soda lime glass that will not chip or crack like ceramic and will not harbor bacteria.
Easy to clean
Dishwasher safe
Microwave safe
Non-toxic
No skid silicone wrap"

Some peeps have said that their doggers take off the wrap and chew it, we don't have any interest in doing that.
Mom says it's more skid-resistant than skid-proof.
Made in China, but seems to be ok.

Following the article is another taken from Facebook where maggots may have saved puppy Susie's life

Quoted from the online vet newsletter PetMD/FullyVetted
"Maggots: Thumbs Up or Down?
May 22, 2012

The weather is starting to heat up here in Colorado, which means that any day now I’ll see my first case of maggots for the year. I hate dealing with maggots. I could come up with all sorts of profound reasons why, but the truth of the matter is they are just gross.

Today I’m going to try to overcome my bias against fly larvae and discuss the good that maggots can do in a medical setting — specifically maggot debridement therapy.

Maggots have been used for hundreds of years to aid in wound healing. They can clean up and stimulate the healing of dirty, infected wounds that are not responding to other therapies. Modern treatment involves what are known as medical-grade maggots (I love that term. I can’t help but picture maggots in white lab coats with stethoscopes around their "necks"). These are a specific species of maggot (Lucilia sericata, or the common green bottle fly or blowfly) that very selectively break down and eat only unhealthy tissues. Other maggots are not so discerning in their tastes and can therefore do more harm than good.

Medical-grade maggots are purchased from a licensed laboratory where the fly eggs are disinfected and hatched in a sterile container. That is where they undergo their first few molts, growing to be between one and one and one-half centimeters long. They are shipped to clinics in sterile, temperature controlled containers and should be used within a day or two of their arrival.

Wounds must be surgically debrided (i.e., as much dead tissue and debris is removed as possible) and cleaned before the maggots are put in place. Antiseptics and other products that could adversely affect the maggots’ well-being should not be used within the wound. Once the maggots are in place, the area is covered with materials that keep the maggots from wandering away, allow air to flow to and from the wound (maggots gotta breathe, you know), and absorb the large amount of fluid that maggots generate. These bandages need to be changed at least twice a day to prevent moisture from damaging the surrounding tissues.

Maggots are generally removed after a couple of days (longer than this and they tend to want to escape and head for greener pastures) at which time the wound is reassessed. Sometimes, multiple applications of maggots are necessary before the area is clean enough and has developed enough granulation tissue to heal on its own, or to be a good candidate for surgical repair.

I hear that maggot therapy is not painful, so analgesics are only necessary if the initial wound requires such intervention.

What do you think? Are maggots cool? My brain may accept that they can be beneficial, but I have to confess that my subconscious still isn’t on board. Those little buggers still give me the heebie-jeebies.

SUSIE'S STORY
On August 20, 2009—during the hottest part of the year—a ten-week-old pit bull/shepherd mix puppy lay dying in a park in Greensboro, North Carolina. She had been hiding and wandering there in fear and desperation for about ten days. A man who was walking his dogs in the park found the puppy—barely alive—and took action.

The puppy was taken to the Guilford County Animal Shelter. The shelter director, Marsha Williams, and her staff quickly determined that they would do whatever they could to help the puppy, which had been badly beaten and had suffered second- and third-degree burns over most of her little body.

They named the puppy Susie and began working diligently to try to save her life. The wounds from her burns were covered with more than 300 maggots, which had to be removed one-by-one from her tortured skin. >>>Those maggots had probably saved Susie’s life by eating any infection.

THIS GOES WITH THE POST ABOVE!
Doesn't seem to have posted all of the article on Susie, here it is again:

"June 2, 2012 Posted by ADMIN in Dog News, Entertainment One comment

On August 20, 2009—during the hottest part of the year—a ten-week-old pit bull/shepherd mix puppy lay dying in a park in Greensboro, North Carolina. She had been hiding and wandering there in fear and desperation for about ten days. A man who was walking his dogs in the park found the puppy—barely alive—and took action.

The puppy was taken to the Guilford County Animal Shelter. The shelter director, Marsha Williams, and her staff quickly determined that they would do whatever they could to help the puppy, which had been badly beaten and had suffered second- and third-degree burns over most of her little body.

They named the puppy Susie and began working diligently to try to save her life. The wounds from her burns were covered with more than 300 maggots, which had to be removed one-by-one from her tortured skin. Those maggots had probably saved Susie’s life by eating any infection. Second- and third-degree burns had been inflicted on over 60 percent of Susie’s body, and her ears were essentially gone.

For months, Susie endured daily treatments to heal her body. She was frequently anesthetized for these sessions because her pain and suffering would have been too great.

Susie was eventually taken in by foster parents, Roberta and Bob Wall, who supervised and aided her healing process. A few months later, Susie was adopted by her “forever parents,” Donna and Roy Lawrence.

Sometime later, LaShawn Whitehead, 21, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was arrested for abusing Susie. He faced animal-cruelty charges, among others. His excuse for attacking the helpless puppy that belonged to his girlfriend was that the puppy licked his baby in the face. By his own admission, he said that he snapped and went into a rage. He began beating the puppy, breaking her jaw and knocking out several teeth. Then he dragged her outside, where he poured lighter fluid all over her body and set her on fire.

Terrified and in agony, the puppy ran for her life and hid in a nearby park. Only Susie knows the extent of the fear, pain, hunger, and thirst that she endured for ten long days as she waited for a compassionate stranger to discover and help her.

Susie and her story of survival are the subject of a new movie, appropriately named Susie, which documents her remarkable comeback and the people behind it. Susie’s case inspired N.C. Senate Bill 254, known as “Susie’s Law,” which strengthened punishments for animal abusers.

Ok, this is day 1 for me and Fitz for Dermoscent Essential 6 Spot-On Skin Care for Pets. I just keep getting worse with the grass itchies. Fitz doesn't itch as bad as I do. The ingredients sound soothing, so we're trying it for that and the possibility of improved skin barrier quality against environmental allergens. Kind of pricey. The directions say use once per week for 8 weeks then once every 2 weeks.
It is applied between the shoulder blades just like a spot flea product .
We'll report back in a week or so. Mom says it smells sorta herbal.

We order most of our stuff from KVVet, here is how they advertises it:

A revolutionary topical approach to skin care for animals! Omega 6 & 3 Essential Fatty Acids, rich in linoleic acid, ten essential oils and Vitamin E scientifically blended to support the hydrolipidic film and optimize skin hydration. Available for cats, dogs and horses.

Dermocosmetics have now become part of the veterinarians "tool box" for the treatment of various skin maladies such as scaling (dandruff), odors and variant forms of sebborrheic disorders.

Dermoscent Essential 6 spot-on formulation containing a synergy of essential oils and essential fatty acids (rich in linoleic and linolenic acids) has been created to help support your pet's natural hydrolipidic film and maintain optimal hydration of the skin.

Maximum improvements were noted in dandruff and hair shine for both dogs and cats, an attribute that can be explained through the hydrating effect of the product, or likely to an action on the sebaceous hydrolipidic film due to omega 6 and omega 3 and/or the essential oils in the product. The combination and synergy of these intensely studied ingredients has shown to reinforce the skin’s structure by improving and restoring the epidermal barrier function and normalizing sebaceous gland secretions.

Four applications now and Mom thought it was helping me but these last couple of days I've gotten worse with the itchies. She thinks maybe rinsing off with plain water every other day was helping just as much and she's started doing that again.

Well...Fitz and I had 5 weeks of this and Mom has decided not to continue 'cause she is seeing no real improvement, doesn't think 3 more weeks will help and is not going to waste money on the full 8 weeks.
But we did smell really nice for about 4 days after each application!

Ma has been following the story of Rosie on Facebook ever since the rescue. The FB page is called Everything Rosie. This latest post shares with us a product probably new to most of us. It is a special bandage and it is helping Rosie with a place on her ankle that has been difficult to heal.

QUOTE FROM EVERYTHING ROSIE:

"Rosie is having a good week!!!

Warrior Wound Care (http://www.warriorwoundcare.com/bio-electric-technology/) sent Dr. Lupo some of their bio-electric bandages to try on Rosie's ankle. Dr. Lupo applied one last Friday and today we went in for a bandage change.

It's working! The improvement in Rosie's ankle is actually visible - in other words we aren't talking millimeters under a magnifying glass - the healing is immediately noticeable!!!

Plus, her Dad returned from his job in India. As you can see from the photo, Rosie loves him and is really glad he's home.

Thank you everyone for sending her such love and to Warrior Wound Care for giving her that extra push she needed to really start mending!"